2005 LJR for sale - $8400

MikekiM

MikekiM

TJ Addict
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2018
Messages
2,588
Location
East of Montauk, NY
I know nothing about it...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1349217719053872/

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It's close enough to me that if someone needs a set of eye on it, I could get there easy enough.
 
If that thing is an actual rubicon I'm pissed and jealous 😆 I paid 11k for my Clean Lj

I'm jealous to say the least for the price of that thing.....if it didn't have that ugly grill haha 🤣 Jokes aside. That's still an amazing price imo, Xjs of decent to "bad" condition go for 8400 in my area here in Texas

If I were to buy that thing I would be spending about 1k de-ugly'fing the thing new bumpers,taking off any murdered out accents,and upon buying it I'd rip that grill off infront of the owner 😆
 
You all could be right... I don't know the seller...

Everyone is pontificating about what it MIGHT be. I just messaged the guy for pics of the frame and axles. Sent nine pics. Frame is actually really nice. No pics of the rear Dif, but....

406888436_327860773486272_4972276561900146911_n.jpg


Might have a Dana 35 in the rear. Sent a follow-up question regarding whether he swapped the hood on or added Rubi decals. Let's see if he responds.

Now, with that said.. it's a pretty clean LJ regardless, especially considering it is a NE vehicle. Remove the hood decal and move on.
 
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MikekiM said:
You all could be right... I don't know the seller...

Everyone is pontificating about what it MIGHT be. I just messaged the guy for pics of the frame and axles. Sent nine pics. Frame is actually really nice. No pics of the rear Dif, but....

View attachment 487589

Might have a Dana 35 in the rear. Sent a follow-up question regarding whether he swapped the hood on or added Rubi decals. Let's see if he responds.

Now, with that said.. it's a pretty clean LJ regardless, especially considering it is a NE vehicle. Remove the hood decal and move on.
Click to expand...

Dana 30 front confirms it's not a Rubi
 
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MikekiM said:
You all could be right... I don't know the seller...

Everyone is pontificating about what it MIGHT be. I just messaged the guy for pics of the frame and axles. Sent nine pics. Frame is actually really nice. No pics of the rear Dif, but....

View attachment 487589

Might have a Dana 35 in the rear. Sent a follow-up question regarding whether he swapped the hood on or added Rubi decals. Let's see if he responds.

Now, with that said.. it's a pretty clean LJ regardless, especially considering it is a NE vehicle. Remove the hood decal and move on.
Click to expand...

Look at the train horns under the radiator,lol.

No lj came with a Dana 35. But who knows whats in it now
 
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MikekiM said:
You all could be right... I don't know the seller...

Everyone is pontificating about what it MIGHT be. I just messaged the guy for pics of the frame and axles. Sent nine pics. Frame is actually really nice. No pics of the rear Dif, but....

View attachment 487589

Might have a Dana 35 in the rear. Sent a follow-up question regarding whether he swapped the hood on or added Rubi decals. Let's see if he responds.

Now, with that said.. it's a pretty clean LJ regardless, especially considering it is a NE vehicle. Remove the hood decal and move on.
Click to expand...

LJ’s only came with 44’s in the rear.
 
It's a bit to good a price for an LJ. Rubicon or not. But so many things wrong with this ad. I question whether you could get a straight answer out of this guy.

Ask for a vin so you can run a Carfax? And look up all the options it came with from the factory. I'll bet he doesn't get back to you.

A clean undercarriage thats been on the road is also not black like that either. Its been partially painted for sure. Not painted last week. But painted. Otherwise you'd at least see some stuck on dust after 20+ years. And 157k miles. To be that black it would have to be new. Like 30k miles new. And you'd still see threads and nuts and other areas that are not undercoated completely black from the factory. Every part under a TJ is not solidly black across the board like that.

Not saying it has rust. Just saying this guys 8 word ad is suspect. Very suspect.

(And please do go visit him and slap him for that hideous grill. ;) lol!)

If I did buy it. It would be after running a carfax, running the vehicle options by vin and checking that those options are there, checking the vin on the body and engine, putting it up on a lift at a reputable mechanics and having it gone thru with a fine tooth comb. Ensuring no rust or rust repair.

If it were just an LJ with 159k, with that nice of interior and exterior, and it had no rust, AND THE GUY WAS HONEST AND UPFRONT. (Not like this ad.) I would very much consider it. I could sell it for twice that in LA.

But that's another reason I don't trust it. A good looking Rubicon LJ for $8400?!! Come on. Somethings wrong here. Thats at oeast a 15-16k vehicle.
 
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OMG guys.. I know the Rubi came only with Dana 44's.. that's why I posted the pic of the Dana 30 up front. And who said it has a 35 in the rear? I said.. MAYBE. Instead of going on and on about what it isn't, consider what it is. LJ's are impossible to find around here.

Maybe someone want's to take an eraser to the hood decals and have themself a decent LJ for under $9k.

Make of the Jeep what you will... Time to move on.
 
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MikekiM said:
You all could be right... I don't know the seller...

Everyone is pontificating about what it MIGHT be. I just messaged the guy for pics of the frame and axles. Sent nine pics. Frame is actually really nice. No pics of the rear Dif, but....

View attachment 487589

Might have a Dana 35 in the rear. Sent a follow-up question regarding whether he swapped the hood on or added Rubi decals. Let's see if he responds.

Now, with that said.. it's a pretty clean LJ regardless, especially considering it is a NE vehicle. Remove the hood decal and move on.
Click to expand...

I message him with no response
 
Moab said:
But that's another reason I don't trust it. A good looking Rubicon LJ for $8400?!! Come on. Somethings wrong here.
Click to expand...

To be fair, he never "said" it's a Rubicon. It's actually listed as a Sport. Yes, it has the decals, but it's certainly not the only one running around with fake decals.
 
When posting a used car ad you're asking for fellow members to scrutinize it. Because that's what used cars require - "scrutiny". Don't get upset when we do so. We aren't doing it to be dicks to you. We're doing it to protect you. And you should be doing it to protect yourself.

If you're not scrutinizing a used car. You're missing the point. Because if you don't scrutinize a used car your likely to end up very sorry.

Maybe $8400 is a normal price in you're area for an LJ. But it is not anywhere else in the US. Which is highly suspect. It's hard to find a decent 2.5L TJ for $8400 in my area. Jeeps in general are one of the few vehicles that normally sell for well above bluebook.

Maybe if the guy listed more than an 8 word description I might be inclined to think he's "just a nice guy trying to pass on a good deal". But that coupled with several red flags leads several of us to believe otherwise.

We also suggested several things anyone should do that might be still considering it. Which is constructive.

He may very well be just a kid that doesn't know how to sell a car. But the ad does not come off as someone being straight forward or honest.

If you were honest the first thing you would do is address the Rubicon sticker across the hood. He says nothing about that. Which says he's fine with anyone believing they are buying a Rubicon. When in fact they aren't.

The undercarriage has been painted. Which alone doesn't mean it has frame rot. But if there were no rust. There would be no need to spray paint it. That coupled with the fact that he's forthcoming with so little info about his vehicle - is an additional red flag.

But with only 8 words in his ad. You have to cut to the chase. And not waste your time. On what is most likely not what you're looking for - problems. Ask for a vin. Because a $30 Carfax separates the used vehicles worthy of further consideration and those that aren't.

Some of us have had enough experience evaluating used cars to know what to look for. And what to avoid. I live in a huge metropolitan area. So I have had the luxury of considering literally hundreds of vehicles.

All were trying to do is share that experience to help you. And no one is saying flat out not to buy it. Just what red flags we see. And possible solutions to clear those up.
 
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